


coffee breath

by solicitors



Series: coffee au [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Meeting the Parents, SO MUCH KISSING IT'S HARD TO READ, The Sequel Nobody Asked For, figuring out how to say i love you for the first time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:49:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22994989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solicitors/pseuds/solicitors
Summary: Kageyama presses the browser button and types something in the search bar: when can i say i love you for the first time?
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Series: coffee au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1652608
Comments: 14
Kudos: 257





	coffee breath

**Author's Note:**

> you THINK THE LAST FIC WAS INDULGENT??? IMAGINE WRITING THIS  
> if you haven't read wuastc before, i encourage you to do so! it isn't required, but it clarifies some things and other things etc yada yada  
> here's the sequel to wuastc that literally no one asked for. i thought it would be a terrible idea to write in kageyamas pov and what it's like for them dating in this universe, so i did. this is 100% fluff, no bad vibes. sorry for the spelling mistakes sdlaksdj i was too excited.

Kageyama has dated people before. He has been accused of different—mainly Kunimi, Kunimi says dating someone when you’re six doesn’t count as dating, but whatever. And, sure, Kageyama has talked to boys before… He’s kissed boys before, too. He just has… never dated anyone like Hinata. He’s not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Hinata is smiling at Kageyama. Well, Hinata is always smiling at Kageyama. The look on his face is screaming _I’ve accomplished something and I deserve to be praised for my efforts!_ He’s not good at this part—the part where you’re supposed to say nice things to your boyfriend and call him cute names and praise him for his efforts. Kageyama has butchered saying nice things to Hinata many times, it’s honestly a wonder that Hinata is _still_ with him. After a month of dating. A month of dating Hinata.

_“Kageyama,” he said on their two-week anniversary (to the day, Kageyama notes unhelpfully). “You are very bad at being nice.”_

It isn’t his fault—okay, maybe it is. Hinata has told him this before, but it seems more obvious now. He just doesn’t know how to put the way Hinata makes him feel into words. Hinata makes him feel a lot of things.

“Why’ve you got that look on your face?” Kageyama asks. He knows why, actually. He’s just trying to pick out the words in his head, and he’s waiting for Hinata to fill the silence.

“I finished a whole cup of coffee in less than a minute!” Hinata elaborates, and then his smile widens—all dimply and cute. Kageyama wishes he could say stuff like this to Hinata. He knows he would appreciate it, but the words get caught in his throat.

Kageyama looks at the phone in Hinata’s hand. 54.53 seconds. He even timed it! What an idiot. Kageyama wants to say just that: _you’re such an idiot, Hinata._ But that doesn’t feel like the right thing to say.

“Yamayama,” he hears Hinata say. Kageyama sips at his coffee that he has been nursing for the past ten minutes while Hinata blabbers on about the newest manga he has recently read. “Stop thinking so hard. You might catch a fever!”

“You’re the _only_ one who doesn’t get to say that to me, idiot,” Kageyama counters back easily. This part is easy, the bantering and the sly smiles and the roughhousing. He wishes, though, he _wishes_ that the other parts were easy, too. Maybe one day he’ll find his words around Hinata.

Hinata is good at the hard parts. Better than Kageyama is, anyway. He’ll say stuff that will make Kageyama blush down to his toes without even blinking, or he’ll grab Kageyama’s neck when they’re alone and drag him down to kiss…

Kageyama likes kissing. He likes it a lot, actually. Sometimes, when he goes too long without kissing Hinata (around the four hour mark), he wants to drag Hinata close to him and put his hands on his back and keep him there while he kisses him. Just kissing. Just holding him there, grounded, his eyes closed, running his mouth over his plush lips, nipping at him.

He’s done it before, too. Hinata was visiting him in his dorm after a volleyball game, after Hinata had come back from the gym (so they were both sweaty and gross), and Kageyama just dragged him to his bed. They kissed for a _long_ time, then. Long enough for it to burn Kageyama’s lungs, and he’s an endurance athlete. His goal wasn’t even sex—it’s a _good_ goal, sure, but it wasn’t _the_ goal—he just wanted to hold Hinata, have him under him (or on top), and just kiss him for as long as he could.

He does it, now.

Hinata pulls away, finally. “Are you okay?” he asks, concerned. “You never—”

Kageyama doesn’t even wait for him to finish his sentence. It’s always like this with them, always fighting to speak, always tugging and pulling. “Eight hours,” he says, like that number is supposed to make any sense to Hinata.

“What?” he asks, bewildered. Kageyama wants to lean down and kiss his pretty, pink lips. So he does. And he does it again. Hinata pushes him away again. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“I haven’t kissed you for eight hours,” he elaborates. “I’m making up for lost time.”

Hinata seems surprised, and then barks out a laugh. Kageyama reaches down for his neck, then, if Hinata wants to keep talking. “You’re keeping track?” he asks airily, his eyes a little glazed as Kageyama peppers wet kisses on his collarbone. He learned this from Hinata, too. The kissing his neck and collarbone thing.

“Of course,” Kageyama grumbles, making a smacking noise with his mouth as he releases Hinata’s skin from his mouth.

“What do you do when you’re asleep? That’s longer than eight hours.”

Kageyama laughs, because Hinata is stupid and Hinata is asking stupid questions. “Sleeping doesn’t count. I’m unconscious.”

“Do you dream of me?”

Kageyama pecks his swollen lips, and then he kisses him again because he can’t help himself. “Obviously,” he says. “Last night, I had a dream that you and I were in a ramen shop—”

“No,” Hinata cuts him off, running his fingers through the hair on the nape of his neck. He still looks a bit distracted, airy, even though Kageyama hasn’t had his lips on his neck for a moment. He should fix that soon. “I mean—” he goes red all over, which is a sight that Kageyama enjoys. “I _mean_ like a sex dream, Bakageyama!”

Kageyama frowns. “It _was_ a sex dream.”

“In a ramen shop?”

“Yes, in the ramen shop.”

Hinata stares up at him, bewildered. And then he smiles, large enough that it feels like a hot poker is burrowed in Kageyama’s stomach. “ _Why_ ,” he asks, completely confounded, “was it in a ramen shop?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Kageyama responds. He places a kiss on the apple of his cheek, and then the corner of his lips, and Hinata makes little cooing sounds in his arms. “My three favorite things: you, ramen, and sex.”

“Oh,” Hinata says, and then laughs. “Oh,” he says again, and then laughs a bit harder. “You are so weird, Tobio.”

Kageyama was only joking. His three favorite things are actually volleyball, Hinata, and coffee. In that order, but it sometimes feels like Hinata might be his favorite thing, even over volleyball. Which is, _wow,_ because he has been playing volleyball since he was four.

He hovers over Hinata, looking at his lips, contemplating this fact. He wants to tell him just so: _Hinata, I think you might be my favorite thing_ , and then Hinata will say: _Your favorite thing? What do you mean?_ because Hinata needs to have stuff explained to him, and then Kageyama will say: _Like my favorite thing ever. Of all time._

But it sits there in the back of his throat, like all the other unspoken words he has yet to say. He has yet to say a lot of them.

“Get on with it, then,” Hinata says, breaking away Kageyama’s thoughts.

“What?”

“Kiss me, you stupid boy.”

So he leans down and kisses him.

_“I like you! Like, I_ like _like you! In a way I want to kiss you!”_

Kageyama isn’t quite sure how Hinata does it. He had been planning on confessing his feelings to him for over a month. He had waited it out, waited for the perfect time, and Hinata still beat him to it. He does it so often, too.

“I like you a lot a lot,” he’ll say like it’s a string of words that make sense. Kageyama wants to say something better than _me too_ or _uh-huh,_ but the words can never crawl out. Hinata is lucky if Kageyama even responds, because he gets embarrassed _far_ too easily when Hinata says stuff like that. But when Kageyama doesn’t respond properly (or apologizes for it), Hinata will say, all soft and sweet, “It’s okay, Kageyama. I know it isn’t easy for you.”

But _why isn’t it easy?!_ This is what keeps Kageyama up at night (among other things, like: Hinata’s thighs, Hinata’s lips, Hinata’s smile, Hinata’s laugh, Hinata). Why isn’t it easy? He likes Hinata a lot. A lot a lot. He likes Hinata _very much._ Why can’t he just tell him that? Why can’t he just say what he’s thinking, like: _I like you so so so so so so much._ Instead, all that comes out are sputters and random noises. It feels like there is something blocking his voice, but he knows it’s all mental.

He stares up at his beige dorm ceiling. Hinata added fairy lights last week (he kissed Hinata for the first time thirty-two days, eight hours, and six minutes ago) because he said that Kageyama’s dorm room was dreary. Hinata has a lot of random pictures and (poor) drawings stuck up on his wall with thumbtacks that he is not supposed to use in his dorm room. Kageyama just has blank walls, strewn clothes, and now fairy lights.

He counts the amount of times they kissed today (or, the intervals they kissed—the amount is far too much if you’re counting each break away or breath as a kiss). It’s Wednesday, so that means that Kageyama met up with him at Kohi and bought (Tanaka gave them to him for free) two black coffees. He remembers, they kissed once before they entered Kohi (behind a trash can, really classy), and then once after they had gulped down all the coffee. Kageyama still remembers it. Hinata’s lips tasted like coffee with a little bit of sweetener and the minty toothpaste he used a few hours earlier.

That’s two. Then Hinata walked him to class (new semester, so they don’t have Algebra 2300 together anymore) and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Even though it wasn’t on the lips, Kageyama still counts it. Hinata had to stand on his tippy-toes and drag Kageyama down by the neck to reach him. Kageyama wanted to kiss him on the lips, and then maybe drag him to the corner where no one would see them and kiss for a little bit longer… but Hinata had to go to class on the other side of campus so he just waved him goodbye.

And then he saw him in passing and dragged him to the men’s restroom to just… kiss him for a while. He was late for class. That’s four. Kageyama didn’t get to see him for the rest of the day until after volleyball practice (Hinata couldn’t come, he had Astrophysics homework) in which he promptly dragged him to his room and… kissed him for a really long time. More than kissed, sure, but kissing was generally involved.

Would Hinata think he’s weird for calculating how often they kissed? He’s not sure if it’s weird or not. Hinata really is his first boyfriend (the one at six doesn’t count, apparently). Maybe he’s afraid of saying the wrong thing so he just ends up saying nothing.

What if he says what he is really feeling—it’s ballooning in his chest—and Hinata breaks up with him? He likes Hinata a whole lot, and he likes being with him, and he likes kissing him (and the sex, by extension, is pretty great), so he _doesn’t want to say the wrong thing._

“I’d like to meet him.” That is his mom. Kageyama is meticulously filing his fingernails while his mom talks to him on speakerphone. His Food & Nutrition homework is sitting untouched on his desk. He doesn’t want to answer, so he doesn’t. “Tobio, did you hear me? I’d love to meet your boyfriend.”

He doesn't know why he told her. She was all like _Tobio, how’s school going?_ and then before he could even help himself, he started talking about Hinata and how they’ve been dating for thirty-four days and how he can never say anything right and how he has a volleyball game against Tsubaka tomorrow and how he hasn’t been able to think about it at all and how—

“You would?” he asks in a small voice. He’s never heard himself sound so scared.

“Why are you acting like it’s the end of the world that your mom wants to meet the boy you love?”

Love? _Love?!_

“Is this because you’re gay?” she asks, as tactless as ever. He knows where he got it from. “Tobio, you told me you were gay in sixth grade. That was—eight years ago?”

“No, I know,” he responds, putting the file away. His hands are perfect, he knows, because he did them yesterday. He’s just anxious. “We just haven’t talked about that yet. Like. Meeting family and stuff.” They haven’t talked about it, but he has thought plenty about it. He has thought about meeting Mrs. Hinata and Mr. Hinata and even smaller Hinata, but he’s not sure if they will like him. He knows his mom will like Hinata, though. “We haven’t been dating for very long.”

“Thirty-four days is the longest you’ve dated anyone,” she points out. Well, Hinata is the only person he has ever dated. So. Kageyama stays dead silent on the phone, so his mom picks up where he lacks. “Tell you what, Tobio. Your sister is coming back from university next week for a visit to her old mom. Why don’t you do the same over the next weekend and bring your boyfriend? Your dad would love to meet him, too.”

He wants to protest that he has volleyball games and extracurricular activities but he already knows that he has a break coming up for a random national holiday that gives them Thursday through Sunday free of school and volleyball. He planned on spending the extra-long weekend watching the Japan team tournaments with Hinata cuddled up in his arm, or going to the local furniture store and buying Hinata a few new mugs for his new coffee addiction or… the majority of the things he had planned were with Hinata. Maybe all of them.

“I checked your school and volleyball schedule, Tobio!” his mom berates, already seeing through his hesitation. “You can’t worm your way out of this one.”

“Where will Hinata sleep?” Tobio asks because that seems like the most pressing matter, for some reason.

“You’re almost twenty, Tobio. Your father and I won’t care if your boyfriend sleeps in the same room as you.” That seems like a logical answer, but still. He didn’t expect his mom to allow it, much less suggest it. It makes his face red, but luckily she can’t see him. “I’m not sure about Emi, though.”

Right. Emika. His older sister who is graduating this year. Who is also coming to visit his mom at the same time while he brings his boyfriend of thirty-four days for introductions. “Why would Emi care?”

“She wouldn’t, I’m only joking.”

Right.

Kageyama leads Hinata away from the locker room before he can jump on him in front of all of his teammates. All of his teammates know he’s dating Hinata, but the whole public thing is still… uncomfortable. Hinata likes being affectionate in public, Kageyama likes being affectionate in private and it has been a point of contention before. One of many.

Once they’re out of sight, Hinata takes the opportunity to wrap his arms around Kageyama’s neck and pull him down to deliver one, two, three quick pecks in succession. He doesn’t let go after he’s done, Hinata just holds Kageyama there, standing on his tip-toes, smiling and blushing. Kageyama wishes Hinata didn’t make him so crazy. Maybe he would have a clear head around him once in a while.

“You played so well!” Hinata says, and then: another kiss. He lets go of his neck and steps half an inch away, which disappoints Kageyama greatly. He doesn’t even want to necessarily kiss him right now… he just wants to take his hand and hold it or, or stand near him, or some other weird thing. “You beat Tsubaka!”

“Yeah,” Kageyama says, and then grins. “Oikawa-san doesn’t seem too happy about it, though.”

“Oikawa-broikawa,” Hinata mutters, waving his hand in front of Kageyama’s face. “You qualified for the collegiate championships!” Hinata begins to rattle off, starting to talk about volleyball things he had no interest in six months ago. Wow. He’s only known Hinata for six months. That feels like a significant amount of time, but then not enough time. “Did you see the fumble that the opposite hitter set? The ref should have called a double, but he didn’t. It’s okay, though, since Lev blocked the middle hitter anyway. And, also, I noticed that Tsubaka’s libero is different from the last game. Did the other one get hurt? Did they recruit someone—”

“Hinata,” Kageyama interrupts, and then, “Shouyou,” because he knows that he likes being called by his given name better. Kageyama regrets interrupting him, sort of, because it’s two of his favorite things in one: volleyball and Hinata. But he needs to say this now to get it off his mind. “Next week, during holiday, do you want to come and meet my parents?”

“Your parents?”

“Yeah,” Kageyama responds, and then that doesn’t feel like explanation enough, so he also says, “For the long weekend.” The elaboration doesn’t feel any better.

“You told your parents about me?”

Well, parent. As in singular. Because it had slipped out. But that doesn’t feel like the right thing to say. So Kageyama just nods instead of properly responding.

He’s kind of hoping, in a deep hidden part of him, that Hinata declines the invitation. He can tell his mom that he said no, that Hinata is going back to Miyagi to visit his family instead. Kageyama won’t have to think of him, then. But that also reminds Kageyama that he’ll be away from Hinata for four days. So maybe he actually wants Hinata to come.

When Hinata doesn’t respond (which is worrisome) Kageyama also adds, “My sister will be there, too.”

“You have a _sister?"_ It’s weird that Hinata latches onto that part of the conversation instead of the main part, as in: do you want to meet my family or not?

“Yeah.”

“How did I not know that?”

“I never really—I never see her. That’s not the important part of the conversation, Shouyou.”

Hinata worries his lip between his teeth. “Do they know you’re gay?”

“What kind of question is that? Yes. They’ve known since I was in sixth grade.”

“Right.”

Kageyama furrows his eyebrows. He’s not entirely sure where this conversation went wrong, but Hinata seems upset by the suggestion that Kageyama wants him to meet his family. “You can say no.”

“Why would I say no?!”

“Why are you avoiding my question?”

Hinata sighs and steps forward until his head hits Kageyama’s sweaty chest. He hasn’t had time to shower or change, which is normally pretty gross, but Hinata doesn’t seem to mind. “I’m just thinking they’ll be expecting a cute, tall girl with black hair and they’ll get me. A cherub.”

Kageyama doesn’t want to laugh, but he does. Hinata steps away angrily, waving his arms. “Why are you laughing?!”

“Because you think they’re going to expect a cute, tall girl with black hair! Why would they ever expect that? Shouyou, they want to meet you because you make me happy.”

Hinata’s lip quivers at the insinuation that he makes him happy, which—well, Kageyama isn’t quite sure how he feels about it yet. “I make you happy?”

“How is—how is that—what? Of course you make me happy,” Kageyama stutters over the words coming out of his mouth. “Why would you think otherwise?”

“You don’t say so!” Hinata responds, and then looks away. Right. _I’m no good at this,_ Kageyama remembers belatedly, like he hasn’t been thinking about how to tell Hinata he _really really likes him_ for the past thirty-five days.

This is supposed to be a happy conversation. Hinata is supposed to say yes.

“I just—” Kageyama sighs, and stops. _I’m not good at this,_ he thinks, _but I have to try, anyway._ “Shouyou, look at me.” Hinata does not, in fact, look at him and keeps angrily staring in the distance. So Kageyama steps forward, closing the space that shouldn’t have been there, and uses his thumb and his forefinger to tilt Hinata’s chin so he can look at him. “I’m sorry.”

“I wish you would tell me more,” is Hinata’s response. He’s not looking at him in the eyes, instead staring at either his chin or his lips, Kageyama can’t tell.

“I know,” Kageyama says. He wishes Hinata would look at him. “You’re my first relationship,” he elaborates, picking out the words in his head. “And I really like you.” His voice cracks on the _really._ Hinata is trying to hide a smile. “And I’m trying to find a way to say it to you without messing it up or sounding dumb.”

Hinata looks at him, then, smiling and giggling. _He’s so handsome,_ Kageyama thinks as an offhand comment. He should probably tell him that, but he still isn’t quite sure how. He’ll figure it out. Hopefully.

“You always sound dumb,” Hinata says instead of saying something cute or romantic. Kageyama frowns. And then, before Kageyama can respond, “I like you a whole lot, Tobio. I know it’s hard for you to say it. But you’ll never sound dumb to me!” Kageyama raises an eyebrow. “You’ll sound a little dumb, but I’ll enjoy it nonetheless!” he fixes.

Kageyama tries to smile, maybe he does—he doesn’t know, the gesture is still somewhat foreign on his face. Hinata removes Kageyama’s hand on his face and intertwines their fingers together so they’re facing each other and holding their hands between their bodies. Kageyama is so lovesick it’s making his chest hurt. “Lean down,” Hinata commands. So Kageyama leans down.

Still holding hands, Hinata leans up to press a fleeting kiss to Kageyama’s lips. Hinata pulls away after a moment and Kageyama wants to follow, but he stays where he is so he doesn’t seem desperate. He is, though. Desperate. “I’d love to meet your parents,” Hinata finally says.

Kageyama knows he is smiling, then.

It’s a four day trip. Well, not really. They’re leaving Thursday morning and coming back Sunday night so that’s—Kageyama has to count on his fingers, he blames Hinata for making him fail Algebra—three nights in Tokyo. His mom told him that she even made his bed and hung up various embarrassing pictures for Hinata. He’s not sure how to feel about that one.

Chuo is in the middle of Miyagi and Tokyo, so it’s only around a three hour and thirty-minute train ride. Hinata packed a _lot_ for a three-night stay, but he elaborated that one backpack held only condoms and lube. He’s not entirely sure why Hinata expects them to have that much sex over a four-day period, but he isn’t exactly complaining at the idea.

“Well,” Hinata says, wagging a finger while he stuffs a bunch of random electronics in his suitcase, “I’ve never had sex with a man in Tokyo!”

“Have you ever had sex in Tokyo?”

Hinata frowns. “No. That’s beside the point—”

Tokyo is his home. Or, it’s where Kageyama grew up, more accurately. The crazy city, the suburbs. He hasn’t seen his mom since between semesters, and he hasn’t seen his sister since Winter break. So, seven-ish months.

It’s seven in the morning when they board their train. Hinata keeps trying to grab Kageyama’s hand and place it in his lap, and Kageyama allows it because there aren’t that many people on the train. He has been trying, ever since Saturday and the Tsubaka game, to say what he is feeling. Hinata tries not to laugh when he does, but he mostly succeeds in getting his point across. A simple _you look good today_ does wonders to Hinata’s mood. Kageyama isn’t sure why he wasn’t saying stuff like that before.

“What are you thinking about?” Hinata asks, playing with his freshly trimmed fingernails. Hinata is… kind of a nutjob about his fingers. He says they’re the best thing since sliced bread, which _cannot_ be true since sliced bread is pretty great.

Kageyama decides to be honest instead of deflecting the question like he normally does. “You.”

Hinata laughs. Kageyama remembers that he loves the sound of his laugh and makes a note to make him laugh more. He’s not sure how successful this endeavor will be, but he has to try, anyway. “Why are you thinking of me? I’m right next to you!”

“I’m always—” and then his words catch up to his brain. He’s trying, sure, but it isn’t any easier to say what he is actually feeling. “I’m always thinking about you,” he finishes, and then looks away, because Hinata is staring at him with his big doe eyes and he really wants to lean down and kiss him but they’re on a public train.

Hinata’s orange hair appears in his vision, anyway, so Kageyama turns to look at him. He’s leaning over into his lap to look at him and he’s red, too. “Ask me what I’m thinking about, Tobio.”

He indulges him. “What are you thinking about?”

Kageyama half-expects him to say _you,_ much like Kageyama had said, but Hinata has his own way of making his heart skip a beat. “Forty-seven days ago, I was on a train to visit my family and I missed you a _lot._ Like a lot a lot.” That’s one of the things he says. A lot a lot. Kageyama’s chest hurts, just a little. “I ate all my snacks and you said you packed me more! It was so cute and funny and so like you to do that. That’s what I’m thinking about!”

Kageyama wants to laugh, or smile, or cringe and hide away—he isn’t quite adept at reading his own emotions, yet—but he settles for squeezing Hinata’s hand in his lap instead. Forty-seven days ago he was on a train visiting his family. That means they’ve been dating for forty days, but Kageyama already knows because he keeps a tally in his head.

“Why are you thinking about that?” Kageyama asks, and it might have come out wrong judging by the look on Hinata’s face. He just means… he wants to know what Hinata is thinking, why he’s thinking, and he just wants to know Hinata. Hinata must pick it up, though, because he ends up smiling.

“I was lonely, Tobio. All alone on a train back to Miyagi thinking about you. And hey! Now we’re on a train to Tokyo and I’m still thinking about you but now you’re here!” Hinata laughs, then, throws his head back like he just said something funny. “What a wonderful turn of events.”

Kageyama smiles with his teeth, trying not to hide it. Hinata says he likes when Kageyama smiles, so he tries to do it more.

What a wonderful turn of events. It’s hard not to smile.

It’s been… Kageyama looks at his watch. Four hours since he kissed Hinata last. He kissed Hinata right before they left for the train, in the safety of his dorm room, but it’s been far too long in between then. Hinata had tried to kiss Kageyama on the train subtly (not subtle for Hinata, he is about as subtle as someone screaming in the middle of the night) but Kageyama reluctantly pushed his lips away. They had stopped a few times on their way to Tokyo, so the train ride was more full and it would have been… Kageyama can’t name the word quite yet, and Hinata’s disappointed but understanding face does little to assuage the guilt he feels.

As they get closer to the suburbs, people peter out of the train and into the city. Kageyama’s house isn’t that far from the city, only a twenty-minute train ride to get to the important stuff. Hinata is rattling about all the things he has planned to do in Tokyo with Kageyama, with his family, and just things he wants to do in general.

“And I read that there is a really good restaurant. We have to eat there, of course!”

Kageyama doesn’t ask which restaurant, because there are a lot of good restaurants in Tokyo. He thinks about how this will go with his family, and Emika, and if it goes well enough, maybe he’ll get to meet Hinata’s family, and get their blessing, and—

Dial it back, Kageyama thinks to himself. You are thinking way too far in the future.

“I’ll get to meet your friends too, right?” Hinata asks, and before Kageyama can even think to answer, he continues. “And, of course, your whole high school volleyball team. Maybe your principal, too!” Ah, Hinata is teasing him.

“I have friends,” Kageyama says, and then decides that sounds too defensive, so he continues. “I mean, I want you to meet my friends.”

He wonders what his friends will think of Hinata. Especially after months of him sending desperate (and… horny) texts to his friends talking about Hinata. He decides to keep that to himself, for now.

They’re really the only ones on the train since it’s mid-Thursday and most places don’t celebrate the holiday until Friday. Thus, Kageyama allows himself to give Hinata a quick peck to the lips. Hinata seems pleased by this sudden development, or Kageyama’s sudden desire to kiss him, but it was always there. Stewing.

A few minutes later, the train announces their stop and Kageyama suddenly remembers that Hinata is meeting his family soon. He isn’t worried about Hinata, Hinata can get literally _anyone_ to like him, but he is worried that he will make a bad impression on Hinata. Which doesn’t make sense. He loves his family. He… really really likes Hinata. This should go great.

“Do you want to hold hands?” Hinata asks him, which he appreciates, because he isn’t sure if he is going to throw up or not. Holding hands seems like a safe idea.

Kageyama nods and holds out his left hand for Hinata to hold. Hinata smiles softly at him, the sunlight makes him look bright and handsome. He’ll tell him that later if he remembers.

“One more,” Hinata says, and then steps up on his toes to give him one more kiss. Kageyama flushes bright pink, but Hinata drags them out of the train before Kageyama can say anything.

“Waha!” Hinata yells, pointing at a baby picture of Kageyama in a boot. He doesn't know why his mom decided that she should hang up _this_ picture of him, but he is starting to regret the decision to let Hinata meet his family. “Why are you in a boot?”

“I don’t know, Shouyou.”

Hinata yells and then points at another picture of him in a toy car. And then another of him in a cardboard box.

“Yes, yes,” his mom says, smiling mischievously. He knows for a _fact_ that these pictures weren’t up when he was over between semesters. Hinata and his mom had hit it off immediately, which was reassuring and disturbing at the same time. It was only his mom picking him up, though, from the train stop. His dad was still at work and Emika wouldn’t be coming until tomorrow night.

“Where are all the embarrassing pictures of Emi?” he asks. It only seems fair.

“Emika isn’t bringing over her boyfriend!” his mom responds.

“Yeah, Tobio! Emika isn’t bringing over her boyfriend!” Hinata echoes.

That logic seems… incredibly flawed, but Kageyama knows it’s a fight he’s going to lose against the both of them. “I’ll take your stuff to my room,” he says instead of trying to fight. He grabs Hinata’s various bags and blushes down to his toes when he picks up the backpack full of…

He leaves them alone, which should be concerning (it is), but he needs to step away before he does something stupid and weird, like kiss Hinata in front of his mom.

The desire to kiss Hinata is always there. Even when Hinata is gross and sweaty or being mean or acting dumb or smiling or—well, the list goes on. How does Kageyama go about telling Hinata that he has wanted to kiss him ever since he saw him sitting in the front row of Algebra 2300 with Professor Watanabe? Sure, he could say just that: _Shouyou, I’ve wanted to kiss you ever since I saw you in Algebra 2300 with Professor Watanabe._ And then Hinata, as clueless as ever, will say: _Oh, Tobio. That’s so sweet._ But he doesn’t mean he wanted to kiss him ever since he saw him—well he did, but that’s not what he means—he means something different. Maybe a little bit deeper. He can’t put it into words, and he’s not sure he wants to.

“Why are you hiding in your room?” Hinata enters his room, breaking his stewing silence.

“I’m hiding from you,” he responds easily. Mostly a joke. Maybe a little truth hidden in there.

Hinata yells (he’s always yelling, he is incredibly loud) and pounces on Kageyama’s bed. “You can’t hide from me!” he says. “That’s illegal in at least three districts in Japan.”

“Hiding from you is illegal?”

“Yes,” he pouts, and then tugs Kageyama’s hair so he looks at him. Kageyama wishes Hinata tugging his hair didn’t emit a visceral reaction.

“Then I’ll move to a different country and hide from you, there.”

“I’ll follow you!” he threatens, but he doesn’t sound threatening at all. “I’ll follow you like a little creep.”

“But you already _are_ a little creep.”

Hinata grumbles and says something incomprehensible—maybe berating Kageyama, he isn’t sure—and leans forward. Kageyama leans forward, too, because he has wanted to kiss him all day. He counts the amount of times they’ve kissed—one in the dorm, one on the train ride—so that’s two. It doesn’t seem like enough.

“You’re calling _me_ a little creep?” Hinata bumbles in his mouth. He doesn’t seem too upset, though, judging by the way he is holding his neck to kiss him.

It’s—well, when they kiss, it’s like trying to tame a wild horse with a wild horse. Hinata is relentless, always, and wants to be on top, or wants to kiss Kageyama first, wants to make Kageyama squirm. Kageyama feels the same way about Hinata.

But here, Hinata holds his neck, tilts his head, and kisses him slow and sweet. Kageyama wishes they could stay in this position all night, just sapping up sweet kisses from each other. He, quite honestly, enjoys the way Hinata trails from his mouth, to his cheek, down to his collarbone, and maybe even a little further. Hinata makes happy little noises in the back of his throat anytime Kageyama kisses him back.

“Tobio!” he hears his mom yell from the other side of the house. She’s probably in the kitchen. “Come help me make dinner before your father gets home.”

Hinata doesn’t pull away right away. He lets his lips linger on Kageyama’s lips, kisses him until he is breathless and his lungs hurt.

Kageyama wishes Hinata would whip out the (he called it the “party bag”) backpack and go to town, but he knows it’s ill-timed, judging by his mom’s increasing impatience. “I have to help my mom,” Kageyama finally mutters, regretfully. “Go take a shower and meet us in the kitchen.”

“I’ll wait until tonight.”

“Why, what’s tonight?”

The glint in Hinata’s eye and the mischievous smirk on his lips is enough confirmation that Kageyama just grumbles, red all over his body, and pushes Hinata away and on the floor.

The dinner goes by without a hitch, for the most part. Hinata makes idle talk with his dad about volleyball and being a salaryman and his major and Chuo and this and that. Kageyama spends the majority of his time staring at his dinner (it’s pork curry (with an egg on top) so it’s not like he _shouldn’t_ stare at it). Hinata kicks him a few times, for good measure, but Kageyama just kicks him right back.

“Emika is coming tomorrow, Tobio,” his father tells him, then pats him on the head. He knows Emika is coming tomorrow. He is dreading Emika coming tomorrow.

He loves his sister. She’s always a bit of an asshole, but all the Kageyama's are a little bit of an asshole, but—well Emika hasn’t been… approving of the boys he has liked before. He isn’t sure if it’s because he’s gay, or a strange coincidence, but she’s always disapproving when he brings it up, so he just… stopped bringing it up. But he and Hinata are dating, like—they’re boyfriend and boyfriend, so he hopes Emika isn’t too much of an asshole about it.

“Don’t make that face, Tobio,” his mom berates. “You love Emika!”

Why does that feel like an accusation? Of course he loves his sister. “Yeah.”

“She’s been rude about the boys you liked because none of the boys are Shouyou.”

Hinata is doing dishes (he said he wanted to, which is dumb) but Kageyama knows that he’s listening judging by how still his head is. Hinata is always humming a weird tune or bouncing along to some song in his head when he’s cleaning, but he just stands still while he scrubs dishes. Kageyama wonders what Hinata thinks of his current conversation with his parents.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

His mom sighs, taps her head like she’s thinking, and then tuts. “Let’s see—what was his name when you were in your last year of middle school? Nakamura Minato! He had a nose piercing, Tobio. _A nose piercing,”_ like her saying that the boy he liked (for a very short period of time) having a nose piercing is the end of the world.

“Nose piercings are fine.”

Kageyama decides to end the conversation there, and he goes up to help Hinata with dishes. He wonders what to say to Hinata, but then he doesn’t have to, because: “A _nose_ piercing?” Hinata is smiling. Oh man.

“It was fleeting.”

“A nose piercing?”

“Like two days!” he says back, grumbling and picking out the soap from Hinata’s hands. And then, “I thought the nose piercing was cute.”

“How old was he?” Hinata laughs. “Like, fourteen? Who gets a nose piercing at fourteen?!”

“Nakamura Minato did.”

“Ohohohoh,” Hinata chuckles under his breath, like the idea that Kageyama liking someone with a nose piercing is the funniest thing in the world. He can’t believe his mom even remembered that he had a crush on Minato. “Can I get a nose piercing? Would that turn you on more?”

Everything Hinata says is so… out there. Kageyama flushes deep, deep red, but luckily both of his parents have retired to their room for the night. “Don’t get a nose piercing.”

“What if I want one!” he cries.

Kageyama tries to imagine it. It doesn’t seem like an entirely bad idea.

Kageyama gets distracted enough by the idea that Hinata has to grab his head and shake him out of it. “You’re actually thinking about it!” he yells, and then laughs. “You want me to get a nose piercing, don’t you?”

“It’s not a bad idea.”

“What about a tongue piercing?” That also… isn’t a bad idea. “An eyebrow piercing? A nipple piercing.”

“What? No.”

“A penis piercing.”

“That’s disturbing, Shouyou.”

Before Hinata can say any other stupid thing, Kageyama leans to peck him on the lips. “Let’s make use of the party bag, yeah?” he decides, and drags him away from the dishwasher back to his room.

Kageyama isn’t sure how Hinata did it. Emika is entirely too receptive to Hinata. She laughs at his lame jokes (Kageyama laughs, too, but he isn’t so obvious about it), they share funny stories about Kageyama, and—it’s a weird feeling, seeing his older sister and boyfriend talk to each other. Kageyama just sits off to the side, staring at his phone, pretending to listen, nodding off into the distance.

“And then—” Hinata laughs loudly, cutting himself off. He doesn’t know what story Hinata is relaying, he got lost midway through. ”—and then he yelled at _me!_ For not playing volleyball before! Who yells at someone about that?”

“Tobio would,” Emika says, nodding her head. She looks a lot like Tobio does, it’s kind of scary. Maybe he’d look like her if he was a girl. She is almost as tall as him, which means she is taller than Hinata. “He thinks that if you don’t play or enjoy volleyball in any capacity, then you are a piece of shrubbery.” Hinata laughs at that. “It’s why he doesn’t like me!”

“I like you, Emika,” Kageyama responds after looking up from his phone. He isn’t sure where she got the idea that he _doesn’t_ like her from.

“Then why didn’t you tell me you had a boyfriend? Why did I find out through mom?”

Kageyama wants to say _I didn’t even mean to tell mom,_ but he hides the retort back on his tongue. “You always make fun of the boys I like.”

“The _men_ you like, you mean,” she corrects, even though it doesn’t feel like there is anything to correct. “You’re almost twenty now, Tobio.”

“What’s your point?”

“My point is, Tobi,” she says, calling him Tobi like she used to when they were little, “that _you’re_ an adult now, and you don’t like boys with nose piercings anymore. You like men like Shouyou who want to meet your family and don’t have nose piercings!”

Kageyama isn’t sure why his family is so hung up on Minato and his nose piercing. “What if I got a nose piercing, though?” Hinata counters easily, taking the heat off Kageyama. “Do you think Kageyama would like that? Get his blood boiling?”

Emika laughs. “Kageyama did a good job.”

“ _He_ didn’t do a good job, I did! I confessed first.”

“I was going to confess first!” Kageyama yells back. “But then you decided to be an asshole and confess first.”

“Just because you were _going_ to doesn’t mean you did. I win.”

“What do you win?” Kageyama asks, grumbling. He’s always grumbling. He isn’t sure if it’s a good grumble or a bad grumble. “By all accounts, I figured out I liked you first.”

“Yeah, but it took you months to tell me.”

“I still figured it out!”

“Hmm,” Hinata responds, leaning over into Kageyama’s space. “I figured it out and told you within a week.”

“What are we fighting about again?” Kageyama asks, because he isn’t sure. “Oh, anyway—you had always liked me. It was stewing.”

“My like for you was stewing?”

“Yeah.”

Emika coughs and Kageyama remembers that she is still in the room. “I’m taking this as my cue to leave.”

“You don’t have to leave,” Kageyama responds, but he actually wants her to leave because he wants to be with Hinata alone. Not for any reason particularly, he just wants to be with Hinata. That feels like a stupid and sappy thing to say, though, so he leaves the words in the back of his throat.

Emika raises her eyebrows. If no one knew better, they would probably assume they were twins. She’s majoring in Biology down in Tsubaka (which—gross) so he never really gets to see her. He should probably spend more time with her, but she’s smiling like a little imp at him and Hinata so—he doesn’t know what that means. “I’ll leave,” she says dramatically, getting up from the couch. “Say, why don’t you ask mom and dad to dinner tonight in the city? I’ll tag along, of course.”

“You’re just saying that so you don’t have to pay.”

“Maybe I want to spend time with my baby brother!” she retorts, and turns around. “Ask them to dinner tonight.”

“Why don’t you ask them?!”

“It seems better coming from you, being the asocial child and all.” Kageyama wants to say something back to that, but she has already retreated to her room, so there’s no point. His life is basically jumbled up and swallowed down words. He wants to say: _Really Emika? Who cried in tenth grade because she had no friends and then made me hang out with her every single day during school?_ But then he remembers, belatedly and unhelpfully, that he also had no friends in eighth grade and hung out with his sister because he wanted to.

“I like your sister!” Hinata says after a moment. “I want you to meet my family, too.”

“I want to meet your family.”

“Well, good.” Hinata leans in a little more, crushing his side with his body weight. Kageyama doesn’t want the weekend to end. It’s only Saturday morning and he’s already thinking about Sunday night and going back on the train to Chuo, but he likes being in his own space with Hinata. He likes Emika approving of Hinata. He likes Hinata. It isn’t a revelation, but it’s a nice thought he has occasionally (as in: every few minutes).

Hinata crushes a little closer, and then says, “Stop thinking! Pay attention to me.”

It’s difficult not to pay attention to him. “I am paying attention to you.” And then, “Dumbass.”

Kageyama sits back in his dorm room, his laptop open, on match dot com. He’s not sure how he got to this point, but it feels like a pressing matter. He feels like he’s behind the curve.

**Every Single Relationship Milestone You Should Be Reaching**

Kiss: first date. By all accounts, he was ahead of schedule. Because he kissed Hinata before the first date (actually, the first time he confessed to him). Or, maybe he’s behind schedule because this was after four months of knowing him.

Holding hands: a week. He can’t even recall when they held hands for the first time.

Sex: two weeks. Okay. He was ahead, apparently, because they had sex a week after they got together (to the day). That soothes him a little bit. Maybe he and Hinata just like to go into things head first, like to speed things up rather than stick to a meticulous relationship schedule provided by match dot com.

Seeing them without makeup: three months. Okay. Maybe this was made for straight people.

Ah, this is what he was searching for.

Saying I love you for the first time: four and a half months.

Kageyama contemplates this graphic provided by match dot com, and then exits out of the browser. It’s been (Kageyama counts in his head, because keeping track of the days they’ve been together gets harder the longer it has been) fifty-two days since they kissed for the first time. Hinata has been talking about wanting to introduce Kageyama to his family. That’s almost two months.

Kageyama presses the browser button and types something in the search bar.

**when can i say i love you for the first time?**

Six months according to some website. Four months according to another. Three months. Two weeks? Kageyama turns off his computer.

Is his situation different because he has known Hinata longer than their romantic relationship? It’s been six-and-a-half months since he met Hinata. Maybe they haven’t been dating for six-and-a-half months, but he knows he has liked Hinata for that long. By all accounts, then, he is behind schedule.

He gets a notification on his phone.

**22:19 [Shouyou]: i miss you.**

Those three words do something strange to his body.

**22:20 [bakageyama]: You saw me two hours ago.**

**22:20 [Shouyou]: you out of ALL people should not be saying that!!! you become an old, withered man if i haven’t kissed you in four hours.**

Kageyama frowns. It’s not like it isn’t true, but still.

**22:21 [bakageyama]: It’s my bedtime.**

**22:21 [Shouyou]: well, my desires have no bedtime!!!!!!! come over and give me a smoooooooooch :***

Kageyama grumbles because he has no self control. He guesses he’ll go over and give his dumb boyfriend a smooch.

Kageyama isn’t entirely sure why Kunimi is facetiming him. He suspects it has something to do with the text he sent the night prior (which said: _Kunimi, I think I might be in love with Shouyou and I don’t know how to tell him and I’ve been thinking about how to tell him for like weeks and I’m in love with him but what if he doesn’t love me back)_ and then he turned off his phone so he wouldn’t see Kunimi’s answer. Kunimi didn’t answer, actually, but called Kageyama upwards of four times. This is the first time Kageyama answered.

The bored look on his face is usual. Kageyama wishes he would show some other emotion, but he can’t say that because he’ll be accused of failing to tell Hinata that he loves him which is—true, unfortunately.

“Tell him.”

“No.”

“I don’t have the energy for this.”

“You never have the energy for anything, Kunimi.”

Kunimi sighs and shakes his head. This is typical for Kageyama—well, not really. The typical part is Kageyama’s refusal to say anything that might hurt him in any way, but Kageyama dating someone and being in love with said someone isn’t typical. Kageyama knows that Kunimi wishes he could just slap him upside the head, but the distance is working in his favor.

“Then why’d you tell me, huh? You obviously just want to tell him, so do it.”

“I can’t just _do_ it.”

“Yes you can? Just say it.”

“No.”

“Ugh,” Kunimi groans. “Why are you like this? You call and text me asking for advice, I give you the advice, and you just ignore it. I don’t know what to tell you, Kageyama.”

Right. Why did he text Kunimi? The match dot com thing was freaking him out. And Kunimi, really, is one of his only friends. He knows Emika would shriek with joy if she found out what he was really thinking, but sometimes… not telling Emika is the best course of action. Hinata and Emika exchanged numbers when he met her (because he is just… like that, sometimes) so he knows Emika would tell Hinata immediately.

“Tell Kindaichi about it,” Kunimi suggests.

“You know what Kindaichi would say!”

Kindaichi has been dating the same girl for three years. Kindaichi says that dating someone is easy. Kindaichi has the relationship shit all mapped out, which is why he can’t go to Kindaichi. Kunimi is as hopeless as him, and that gives him hope.

“He would give you actual advice!”

“I don’t want actual advice!” Kageyama admits. “I want to complain about my situation to someone who might understand!”

“What is there to complain about?” Kunimi asks, clearly annoyed with Kageyama’s on-and-off attitude. “You’re in a relationship with someone you love, who you’re happy with, someone who loves you too! What the _fuck are you complaining about?”_

Kageyama actually doesn’t know what he’s complaining about. He knows that Hinata likes him (or hopes, really). Hinata has said so many times. Would it be weird to say I love you to someone two months in a relationship? Maybe a little, but Kageyama and Hinata are weird. So. And Kageyama guesses that he’s going to be the first one to say I love you. It seems like a big deal to him, and maybe it isn’t. Maybe it shouldn’t be.

“Stop thinking,” Kunimi says. “You don’t think.”

It’s untrue. He overthinks! But maybe he shouldn’t think about this. It’s as simple as this: he loves Hinata and he wants to tell him, so he should.

“I’ll tell him, then.”

“That sounds like progress.”

He just needs to find a way to say it.

There are many opportunities to tell Hinata, it turns out. Kageyama almost says it, but then the words get caught behind a barrier. Sometimes, Hinata laughs at his constipated face. Other times, Hinata asks if he’s okay—because these occurrences (of him never saying what he actually wants to say) seem to increase with time.

It’s a weekend date. His coach gave the team time off before the collegiate championships, so Hinata put it upon himself to make Kageyama meet his family. They’re sitting on the train back to Miyagi and Kageyama keeps thinking of scenarios on how to say those three words to Hinata.

Scenario one: Kageyama has a fancy dinner planned out (he actually can’t cook, but he hopes ramen will suffice) and he says, underneath his fairy lights (because he also can’t afford to go somewhere not his dorm) _I love you, Shouyou._

Scenario two: maybe he will scrounge together some money and take him on a nice hike, or a semi-decent restaurant. He will say _I love you. Like, a lot._ And Shouyou will say _I love you more!_

Scenario three: he gets emotional after sex, so maybe he’ll end up saying it then. Maybe the post-orgasm clarity will give him the courage he needs to tell his boyfriend he loves him.

There are at least three other scenarios in which Kageyama maps this out in his head. He’s being meticulous, thinking of where things go wrong. But that’s the problem, then, because Hinata doesn’t think. He just _does_ stuff and thinks about the consequences later. Kageyama wishes it was that easy for him. He wishes he could just say _I love you_ without thinking about every outcome ever. It’s a good trait to have when it comes to volleyball, but him overthinking impedes every other little thing. Things like this, where saying I love you shouldn’t be mapped out like a volleyball calculation.

Kageyama has a thinking face. He knows this because Hinata has said so. He has said, on more than one occasion, _Kageyama! You’ve got that constipated look again!_ which means he’s thinking. Hinata, in the meantime, reaches over with his thumb and tries to smooth out the wrinkles on the bridge of his nose while he thinks.

“What are you doing?” Kageyama grumbles.

“I don’t want my very cute and _young_ boyfriend to get wrinkles prematurely!”

Very cute. Those two words echo around in his head while he debates how to respond to that.

“Why do you think so much, Bakageyama?” Hinata asks innocently, his little fingers twitching because he wants to hold Kageyama’s hand on the train, but Kageyama already said no because there are people around them. “What are you thinking about so much?”

Kageyama wants to say, again, _you._ He is always thinking about Hinata, he supposes, and that’s where most of his strife comes from. But it’s not necessarily bad—it’s never bad, actually. It’s just… Hinata has taken residence in his brain. “Sometimes, Shouyou,” he says, biting his lip. It’s getting more difficult to look at Hinata without wanting to blurt out _I love you_ at the top of his lungs, and Kageyama prides himself in being reserved and quiet. “Sometimes, people think. Not that you would know.”

Hinata takes offense to this, as Kageyama suspected he would. Hinata, instead of yelling or hitting Kageyama like he normally would, leans over (right into his personal space—but he doesn’t mind) and whispers in his ear. “I _really_ want to kiss you right now.”

“Did that turn you on?” Kageyama asks incredulously. “Me saying you don’t think turns you on?”

“Wahahaha!” Hinata laughs like he always does. “Everything you do turns me on!” he says, maybe a bit too loud judging by the looks the other passengers are giving them.

“You are absolutely unbelievable,” Kageyama responds, wanting to hide behind Hinata and everyone's stares. His heart, though, grows a few sizes bigger. “So unbelievable.”

“You like that, though!” Hinata reasons. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be dating me.”

Maybe, Kageyama thinks. But Kageyama is dating Hinata for… so many reasons. Him being unbelievable is just one of them. One of his favorite things, actually.

Natsu is right at that stage where she doesn’t listen to what anyone says. Kageyama remembers doing that, too, at eleven. He still maybe does it. “Natsuuuuuuuuu,” Hinata whines after the third time he asked Natsu to leave him and Kageyama alone in his room. Kageyama actually doesn’t mind Natsu. She reminds him a lot of a certain someone. Hinata was probably like that at eleven. “Kageyama, tell her to leave.”

Kageyama doesn’t want to be rude, so he says nothing. “You’re twenty, Shouyou!” Natsu cries. “Act your age!”

“Yeah, Shouyou!” Kageyama echoes before he can stop himself. “Act your age!”

“Mom, they’re ganging up on me!” Hinata sputters in disbelief, hiding his face in Kageyama’s chest. Kageyama just… wants to keep Hinata there for a while.

“Shouyou,” his mom berates. “Act your age.”

Natsu, Kageyama, and his mom have a good laugh while poking fun at Hinata. Hinata is whining and complaining, as he normally does, but Kageyama can tell he’s trying not to smile. He is flushed red with embarrassment, though. Now Hinata knows what it was like for Kageyama when Hinata met his own parents.

“Now, now,” Hinata’s mom says over a game of friendly (deadly) Monopoly. They’re sitting around the small coffee table in the living room. Kageyama currently has Boardwalk, Hinata has Park Place, Natsu has basically everything else, and both of Hinata’s parents are broke. “You should have listened to Hinata when he came to visit us for Natsu’s birthday!”

Hinata’s mom looks a lot like Hinata, minus the hair. Both Hinata and Natsu have fiery hair, similar to his dad’s. His dad is sitting there, hunching over the board, contemplating the current state he is in the game. He has wiry glasses that frame his pudgy face, and Kageyama wonders if Hinata needs glasses. He’s never seen him wear contacts or glasses, but it’s a nice thought nonetheless.

“What do you mean?” Kageyama asks, trying to wave 500 dollars in Natsu’s face for one of the train tracks.

Hinata answers before his mom can. “Don’t listen to her!” he squeaks, his sneaky little fingers edging toward the open Monopoly box where they put all the bank money. Kageyama slaps his hand away before it can get too far.

Kageyama thinks about the train ride on the way here. Hinata had said _I really want to kiss you right now,_ but they never got to kiss because of Natsu screaming when she saw them coming out of the train, because of Natsu never leaving them alone, and just the general lack of privacy. He really wishes he could kiss Hinata.

“I’m thinking we’re losing, dear,” Hinata’s father mutters like he hasn’t been losing for the past three rounds. Natsu is smugly counting her money in the corner, waiting for Kageyama to give up Boardwalk.

“Seems so,” Hinata’s mother decides. “Oh, I got off topic there. Tobio!” she yells, setting down her 50 dollars and single card (Baltic Avenue) on the coffee table. Kageyama knows where Hinata got his loudness from, since his dad seems to enjoy sitting in the corner watching the chaos. “Hinata was crying all over here about you!”

“What?”

“Mom!” Hinata seethes, trying to grab some of Natsu’s money away from her. “This is _seriously_ not a topic we should be talking about right now!”

“Ohohohoh,” his mom laughs like she’s got a secret. Kageyama wants to know that secret. “He was so upset that he was away from you for a little week, he couldn’t even concentrate on his favorite sister’s eleventh birthday!”

“Only sister,” Hinata mutters, trying to wedge himself between Kageyama and the wall as his mom exposes him with no mercy.

“Your _only_ sister is whipping your butt at monopoly!” Natsu yells, finally taking her dad’s money as he steps away from the game to go brew some coffee.

Kageyama has never heard _this_ part of the story. “You were so upset?” Kageyama repeats, trying not to laugh at the idea of Hinata being home for a week and only thinking of Kageyama. He’s no better, though, because he’s _always_ thinking of Hinata, no matter the situation.

It hits him, suddenly, that he wants to tell him _now._ Like, right now. In front of his family. It starts ballooning in his chest, and it’s on his tongue—it’s _right there._ But the idea of telling Hinata he loves him in front of his family, and then Hinata not saying it back, stops him. He can wait a little longer.

“I’m always upset,” Hinata reasons. “Always upset because you’re so dumb.” This seems reasonable.

After Monopoly, they end up playing Apples to Apples. Everyone but Natsu has coffee in front of them. Hinata is sipping at his with a metal straw, which makes Kageyama laugh. He looks disgruntled, still, but it’s not a bad look. Kageyama wonders if Hinata even _has_ a bad look.

“So, Tobio,” Hinata’s mom says, staring at the cards in her hand. “Shouyou told me that you play volleyball on the Chuo team.”

“Yes, Mrs. Hinata. I’m the starting setter.”

“Please, please,” she says, waving her hand as she hands her husband one of her cards. “Call me Himari!” He nods at that, but he knows he won’t. “Starting setter, huh? That must have been pretty tough.”

“Not really,” Kageyama shrugs, handing a card to Hinata who hands it to his dad. “I’m really good.” Hinata says he needs to be more humble. But what is there to be humble about? He’s the starting setter for the best collegiate volleyball team in the nation. He feels like that deserves the least amount of humility there is to offer.

“Wahahaha!” Himari laughs, much like Hinata laughs. He knows where he got that from, then. “You are great, Tobio.”

Natsu wins again.

“How am I doing?” Kageyama asks, pushing Hinata away from his face.

Hinata is very distressed by Kageyama pushing away his face. “Let me kiss youuuuuuuu,” he whines, reaching back down to kiss Kageyama. Kageyama wants to kiss him too, of course (making up for lost time), but he doesn’t know how he is doing with his whole family.

“How am I doing?” he repeats, relentless.

“About what? Kissing me? You’re doing pretty great, but you stopped, so—”

“Not about kissing, you dumbass! I know I’m doing pretty great, I always am.”

“You need to be more humble.”

“I do _not.”_

“Waha!” Hinata laughs and manages to steal another kiss from Kageyama. Hinata pulls away before Kageyama can kiss him back. “About what, stupid Kageyama?”

“Does your family like me?”

Hinata frowns and leans over until he’s nose to nose with Kageyama. They’re lying on his bed, which is outfitted with dolphin-covered sheets, Hinata lying on top of Kageyama. This is Kageyama’s favorite position, probably, because Hinata can kiss him and Kageyama can pull him down or lean up to kiss him or—well, the possibilities are endless. “Why would you think otherwise? I think Natsu wants you to be _her_ boyfriend, not mine.”

He likes Natsu, even if she is a little annoying. All eleven-year-olds are a little annoying. Hinata is scrunching his nose with distaste at the idea, so Kageyama cranes his head to kiss the little wrinkles.

Now would be the perfect time, Kageyama thinks unhelpfully. They’re alone, the door is locked (for a variety of reasons), and Hinata is right there. He just wants to say it. To get it over with.

“Hinata,” Kageyama says suddenly, his voice and face serious.

“What?” Hinata asks, kissing Kageyama absentmindedly on the lips.

“Hinata,” he says again, like he hadn’t just said it a moment ago. He doesn’t know if he can do this. “Hinata, listen. I have something important to say to you.”

“You do?” he asks. His big, brown eyes are looking down at Kageyama, sending sparks through his body. It’s easy, Kageyama thinks. It’s just three words.

“I—I—” he stutters, the words caught in the back of his throat. “I—”

“Yamayama,” Hinata says slowly, using his hands to wipe away the hair that is all messed up on his face. He uses his thumbs to swipe near his cheeks, smiles at the redness on Kageyama’s face, and leans down to kiss him. Hinata pulls away, regretfully, after a few moments. “What’s up?”

“I—want to have sex with you.”

“What.”

Kageyama doesn’t respond to that.

“You always want to have sex with me!” Hinata grumbles, sitting up away from his face. Kageyama follows him, sitting up. He was _so_ close. “I thought you were going to say something cute and romantic!”

Well. He _was._ But then he didn’t.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Kageyama grumbles, and when Hinata doesn’t respond to that, he says, “That’s not what I wanted to say.”

“What did you want to say, then?”

“I just think—you’re really handsome.” Hinata reddens at the compliment, and Kageyama likes that look on him, so he continues instead of saying what he meant to say. “And I loved meeting your family today. And I think you’re super cute. And I actually do want to have sex with you, but that’s beside the point. And you kiss really well—”

“Okay, well, I get the point,” Hinata whines, finally looking at Kageyama. He is as red as a tomato. “You’re really handsome, too,” he finally says, pushing Kageyama back onto his back. His fumble wasn’t an entire failure. “And I want to make you feel good.”

Okay, Kageyama thinks. I can work with this.

The collegiate championships are coming up. Thus, Kageyama doesn’t get to see Hinata as much anymore. Probably once a day, maybe not even at all, because he is spending all of his time either at school or volleyball. Mainly volleyball. The periods in between—like a water break, walking to class—he thinks of Hinata. Actually, he thinks of Hinata in class, too.

Hinata watches one of his practices because Kageyama is having a difficult time making time for him. He really _wants_ to make time for him, but Hinata doesn’t appreciate the booty calls at midnight. They’re not even booty calls, really. Cuddle calls, maybe.

“I’m not _blaming_ you,” Hinata says one night over the phone. He sounds tired, which means that Kageyama probably woke him up. “I’ll never blame you for caring more about volleyball than me.”

“That’s a stupid thing to say, and you know it.”

Hinata huffs at the insinuation that he says anything stupid, but then, “Yeah. I know. I just miss you a lot. We literally live on the same campus!”

So. Hinata watches him at practice one time, making various crude gestures (which is really… upsetting and exciting—such a weird combination of emotions) and yelling various encouragements.

Kageyama wants to tell him after a romantic date, or romantic sex, or something romantic. Not after volleyball practice with Hinata bounding up to him with an iced coffee he stole from the vending machine. It just slips out. He can’t help it.

“I love you.”

Hinata stops bouncing on his heels. The smile drops from his face. He’s still holding the coffee. “What?”

“I love you,” he repeats, and then makes a move to run away because this was a bad idea. He’s still in his volleyball clothes.

“What are you—” Hinata mutters, and then grabs Kageyama’s arm to stop him from running away. “Why are you trying to leave?!”

“Just thought you should know,” is his response, and then tries to make a run for it (again) but Hinata’s hand stays strong on his arm. “Let me go, Shouyou.”

“Why are you running away?”

“I don’t want to hear your answer back!”

“You don’t want me to say I love you back?”

That stops Kageyama. “What?”

Hinata is smiling. Probably the biggest Kageyama has ever seen, and that’s saying something because Hinata is always smiling. He sets the coffee on the floor (a good few feet away) and goes into his space. Kageyama knows he stinks from volleyball practice, but Hinata is _right_ there and he really wants to kiss him. “You didn’t think I was going to say it back?”

“You haven’t said it back yet.”

“Waha!” Hinata laughs, wrapping his arms around Kageyama’s neck and dragging him down until they’re face to face. He has coffee breath. “I thought it was implied!”

“No,” Kageyama frowns, not sure where this conversation is going to end up. If Hinata loves him, too, then he should just say it. But that seems hypocritical, because he has been thinking about how to tell Hinata he loves him ever since they started dating. “You know I don’t pick up the implied stuff.”

Hinata closes the gap between their faces and makes a loud _mwah_ sound with his lips as he smacks them. And then another _mwah mwah!_ “I love you, I love you,” he says in between kisses, and that does something red and hot to Kageyama’s body. He didn’t expect for it to go this well, he didn’t expect for it to go at _all_ because he didn’t mean to say it. Or, he did. Just not right then. “I love you a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot.”

“I’m sorry,” Kageyama says after Hinata is done.

Hinata makes a pained and confused face when Kageyama apologizes. “Why are you apologizing! Are you sorry that you love me!?”

“What? No. I was going to tell you I love you in a more romantic setting. Like. I don’t know, a date. I don’t know. I was going to tell you back in your room in Miyagi. I thought it was too soon.”

“We’ve been dating for two-and-a-half months, Tobio. That’s a long time!”

“Not really, no.”

Hinata laughs and leans up to kiss him again and again. “We’ve known each other for seven months.”

“What’s your point?”

“There is no point, Tobio. There doesn’t have to be.” Hinata is smiling, his cheeks red, his hair red. Kageyama doesn’t even want to do anything right now. He doesn’t necessarily want to kiss, he just wants to hold or hug Hinata and tell him over and over again _I love you I love you I love you._ That seems incredibly lovesick of him. So he does it. He tells him _I love you I love you_ just because he can now. He likes the way the words feel on his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> timeline, if it's confusing:  
> end of winter break: beginning of jan  
> first meeting: beginning of feb  
> spring break (and moving from college first years to second years): sometime march/april  
> summer break: june  
> first kiss (and when they started dating): june 21st  
> and then... this whole fic following that. the tl is confusing (even for me) because japanese schools have their school year set up different than americans, so i tried to follow that the best i could heheh


End file.
